The Business Council of Australia (BCA) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025 and a related Bill (the Bill). The BCA represents more than 120 of Australia’s leading businesses, employing over 1.1 million people, including businesses that deliver health and care services.
The BCA welcomes the Australian Government’s efforts to establish the Australian Centre for Disease Control (ACDC). This will bring Australia in line with our international counterparts and ensure we are further prepared for potential pandemics.
We support the objectives of the Bill with a focus on building evidence, improving transparency and access to data, and maintaining public trust in health information.
The BCA recently released a health and care economy blueprint, Supporting a Healthy and Productive Nation, which calls for whole-of-system reform that leverages the strengths of both the public and private sectors, embraces innovation, and empowers individuals to take charge of their health. We believe the ACDC will assist in delivering on these objectives. Our blueprint specifically calls on the Australian Government to:
- expedite the establishment of the ACDC.
- expand the role of the ACDC to include prevention, which would follow a similar approach to international models.
- ensure prevention activities are a priority and set out in the updated National Health Reform Agreement, complementing the National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2030, and the work of the ACDC.
Furthermore, our recent submission to the Productivity Commission’s (PC) interim report into the Delivery of quality care more efficiently also calls for this approach. We need to reorient the Australian health and care system to tackle major burdens of disease by better coordinating preventive health initiatives and increasing total investment. Fragmented funding, financing and policy responsibilities weaken incentives to invest in these areas.
As such, we recommend the following amendments to the Bill which are detailed in our submission:
- Expand the ACDC’s functions to include prevention and chronic conditions
- Clear accountability and responsibility across all levels of government
- Collaboration including private sector and other stakeholders
- Avoid duplication with other stakeholders
Overall, the BCA supports the Bill and recommends it pass Parliament.
The Bill is a strong and welcome step in the right direction to improve transparency in the health and care system and allow for better decision-making, including implementing the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCA also believes that with the amendments outlined in our submission, there is even greater potential for the ACDC to address the major chronic health issues Australia is facing, and which, along with an ageing population, are pressuring the sustainability of the health and care system Australians rely on.
We also believe our systems must support and enhance the unique model of public and private health delivery, which sees Australia’s health system rated as one of the best in the world and ensure it continues to improve and lift the health outcomes for Australians.